A cubicle defining portion mountable adjacent an access opening in a wall of a premise, the cubicle defining portion defining a cubicle having an opening which is arranged transversely and adjacent to the access opening;
an extension member, extending from a side panel of the cubicle defining portion;
a closure member pivotally arranged relative to the access opening to be pivotal through a predetermined arc, an included angle of the arc being an acute angle, the closure member being pivotal between a first position at one end of the arc in which the access opening is closed off, and a third position at the other end of the arc, in which the closure member lies substantially in the same plane as the extension member, past a second, intermediate position, characterised therein that the system comprises
a locking mechanism which is operatively mounted relative to the closure member for locking it in the second position for inhibiting access to the premises; and
a releasable obstruction member which is associated with the locking mechanism to releasably obstruct movement of the closure member from the second position to the first and third positions.
The cubicle defining portion, the closure member and the extension member may be configured so that, once a person is positioned within the cubicle, the closure member must be pivoted into a position at least proximate the said one or said further position to permit the person to exit the cubicle.
The system may further include a booth having a portion which forms the cubicle defining portion and comprising a framework which pivotally supports the closure member. The closure member may be in the form of a door.
The locking mechanism may also be configured to lock the door in the first position and the third position.
The system may include a detecting means for detecting the presence of the person within the cubicle. The system may also include an entering means for enabling the person to enter information to gain access to the premises. The entering means may be in the form of a key pad, a card reader, or the like.
Thus, the locking mechanism may include a control means which is responsive to the detecting means and the entering means for disabling the locking mechanism and allowing the door to be moved from its second position to its first or third position.
The locking mechanism may include a manual override arrangement. The arrangement may be configured to permit a user to manually operate the locking mechanism in the event of a power failure.
The extension member of the cubicle defining means may be in the form of a flap which extends from one wall of the cubicle defining means at an angle to said wall to lie in the plane of the door when the door is in its third position. Conveniently, to enable bulky objects to be conveyed into the premises through the system, the flap may be hingedly connected to said wall of the cubicle defining means to be pivoted out of the way. Further, if desired, the flap may be connected to the door via a linkage so that the flap moves to the position in said plane as the door is moved from its first position to its third position.
The cubicle defining means may comprise, for new installations, three wall portions with the walls being arranged at right angles to each other to define the cubicle. Conversely, for existing premises, the cubicle defining means may only have two walls which are arranged at substantially right angles to each other with a third wall of the cubicle then being defined by an existing wall of the premises.
The system may include a drive means for driving the door between its first, second and third positions.